Watching Simpsons

One of the never ending debates, these days, is usually The Family Guy versus The Simpsons. The shows are very similar, and the creative staffs have certainly been competitive, even to the point where the animation of both shows have included both verbal and visual smack downs, Sometimes, the debate online can be ripe – but one thing can be said for Seth McFarlane and his creation: derivative or not, it does bare McFarlane’s unique stamp. For that, The Family Guy has been a rousing success since it was brought back from cancellation – although McFarlane’s other creation, American Dad, hasn’t had close to the level of success.

What’s interesting, however, is that McFarlane has parlayed his current achievements into a new project. McFarlane is going online with a series of animated shorts, and this is all meant as internet-exclusive material under the name Seth McFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy. There are about 50 clips to be distributed to a variety of sites. (It should be noted that, if successful, there probably will be DVDs later).

So what does this have to do with Groening or The Simpsons? In the above linked Wall Street Journal article, there’s further proof that whatever the competition between the two shows, Groening holds nothing personal against McFarlane and actually respects the guy. The following comes from The Wall Street Journal:

Cartoonist Matt Groening, creator of “The Simpsons,” says, “He’s laid the groundwork with this smash hit show and now, with new media opening up and Seth’s specific kind of rapid-fire visual humor, how to exploit it just depends on how ambitious he wants to be.”

At any rate, one does kind of wish that Groening would follow McFarlane online with his own set of clips. Can one imagine a fresh slate of Life In Hell, as internet cartoons? Or fresh Futurama content? Or something completely new? If Groening did, however, I kind of hope it wouldn’t be Simpsons material. There’s enough of that already, and the internet could be a great place for experimentation. At any arate, even if I do like Groening’s material better than McFarlane’s, I still hope the guy succeeds with “Cavalcade.”

Matt Groening, The Simpsons, Internet, Web Cartoons, The Family Guy, Seth McFarlane